Just recently (and still going on again in April), Oxygen Yoga & Fitness took a trip across the globe to Costa Rica! The city is called Tierra de Sueños, which is nestled in the jungle right next to the best beaches in Costa Rica. Members were staying in a center that was located just outside the resort town of Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side with typical warm and turquoise Caribbean beaches. There were monkeys, toucans, sloths and other wildlife inhabiting the area and seen overhead. This experience consisted of beautiful scenery, culture, and of course amazing Yoga, and when put all together can create a fantastic memory!
For the week of March 19th- 26th we had quite a few members come back from the first round of the retreat. We were lucky enough to get a few of the amazing details that highlighted some of the great reasons why this retreat is worth taking.
Yoga
First, let’s talk about one of the main reasons for why you would be going on this retreat, which is yoga! What is included in the package is 2 fitness classes a day with an Oxygen Yoga & Fitness instructor. These instructors were handpicked from local studios to lead to each retreat. The day would begin with a 7am yoga ritual that followed along with an 8am fitness class. After breakfast and lunch you were given free time to explore the beautiful village and city (I’ll explain more below), but once the day was over, you would arrive back to the center for a 5pm fitness class that followed along with a half hour of stretches. This was due to the fact that after doing yoga and being out and about this helped with any feelings of muscle fatigue. After dinner, you were given the choice of an optional 8pm meditation class. It is worthwhile to note that technically every class that is offered is one that is optional, everyone managed to attend every class as if they were mandatory because you didn’t want to miss out on the amazing opportunity. Of course, it would be silly of me to forget to mention that there are infrared saunas and massages on site.
Food
Another big highlight of the trip was the food that was offered. The amazing chef prepared three meals a day. The meals that were provided include locally sourced, organic and raw meals. Beginning with breakfast in the morning after yoga, lunch was served at 1pm, and dinner was served at 7pm. What was great about this chef was that he took the time to explain what each meal consisted of and all the nutrients you would be gaining out of it. Many of the meals that were served were usually vegetarian or vegan based and you were able to leave the dinner table feeling full (and not guilty over the fact). What also is offered during your stay is helpful nutrition and wellness workshops that gave you informative facts that you are able to take with you and incorporate into your life back at home.
After your morning yoga and breakfast, you were given the opportunity to go out and explore. This usually led to two options; the first was to experience the quiet and refreshing area around the retreat center. Or you were able to go into Puerto Viejo for an active nightlife. During the day what many people on the retreat did was go on bike rides around the city and center. This gave everyone the opportunity to take in a different culture, as well as see how beautiful and sunny the city is during the day. As well as at night you had the opportunity to go out on the town and take in the nightlife. This was a great experience where you were able to meet new people from different locations such as North Vancouver, Kelowna, Yaletown, and Maple Ridge.
In conclusion, the extraordinary thing about this retreat is that it isn’t just a vacation, but rather, a guarantee experience of feeling relaxed and being able to take what you learned and who you met, with you back home!